Friday, June 29, 2007

Gandhinagar: A senior Gujarat forest department official has said that temples at Kankai and Tulsishyam—on the border of the GirNational Park and inside the Gir sanctuary area respectively — have become a major cause of pressure on the Asiatic lion and other wild animals in the protected area.

In his latest book, ‘The Gir Lion’, Dr H S Singh, chief conservator of forests, Gujarat government, has said, “The heavy influx of pilgrims and vehicles, particularly dieseldriven vehicles, is becoming a growing threat to the protected area in Gir.” Released by Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently, the book also seeks to blame ‘increasing transport business on the roads’ for this.

In Singh’s estimate, the number of vehicles that pass through the Gir, including those that reach these temples, has doubled in a decade. The Jasadhar checkpoint annually reports above 40,100 vehicles annually. The vehicles at the Tibmerva checkpoint reported are more than 37,700. On two seasonal roads – Chhodvadi-Kankai and Chhodvadi-Banej – annually 3,700 and 2,700 pass by respectively.

On the Sasan-Kankai road, which was opened in 1997 ‘due to public demand and political pressure’, 34,000 vehicles pass by every year. The author warns, “Except one, all public roads in Gir are seasonal and the public pressure to convert them into all weather roads is tremendous. Being one of the greatest threats to Gir, it remains an important issue of management.”

The author believes they are not just the roads that interfere with wildlife. He says, “Excessive anthropogenic interference in the wilderness can change the behaviour of the wild animals. There is minimal cutting and lopping pressure on the forest near Kankai. But the grazing pressure is high due to the presence of a large number of cows belonging to the temple.”

He adds, “These cattle have the potential to transmit diseases to the wild animals as well. As Kankai temple is situated near the National Park boundary, the presence of cattle and their interference in the park is a major threat for wild animals.” He finds a similar problem near Tulsishyam temple.

The author says, “The distribution of non-biodegradable substances around Kankai temple and in the river system by the pilgrims is a major source of pollution in the area. There is a danger of wild animals swallowing polythene, which may lead to their death. Along with the river system, toxic substances get transported to a large area inside the forest and this can be deleterious to wildlife.”

Gandhinagar: A senior Gujarat forest department official has said that temples at Kankai and Tulsishyam—on the border of the GirNational Park and inside the Gir sanctuary area respectively — have become a major cause of pressure on the Asiatic lion and other wild animals in the protected area.

In his latest book, ‘The Gir Lion’, Dr H S Singh, chief conservator of forests, Gujarat government, has said, “The heavy influx of pilgrims and vehicles, particularly dieseldriven vehicles, is becoming a growing threat to the protected area in Gir.” Released by Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently, the book also seeks to blame ‘increasing transport business on the roads’ for this.

In Singh’s estimate, the number of vehicles that pass through the Gir, including those that reach these temples, has doubled in a decade. The Jasadhar checkpoint annually reports above 40,100 vehicles annually. The vehicles at the Tibmerva checkpoint reported are more than 37,700. On two seasonal roads – Chhodvadi-Kankai and Chhodvadi-Banej – annually 3,700 and 2,700 pass by respectively.

On the Sasan-Kankai road, which was opened in 1997 ‘due to public demand and political pressure’, 34,000 vehicles pass by every year. The author warns, “Except one, all public roads in Gir are seasonal and the public pressure to convert them into all weather roads is tremendous. Being one of the greatest threats to Gir, it remains an important issue of management.”

The author believes they are not just the roads that interfere with wildlife. He says, “Excessive anthropogenic interference in the wilderness can change the behaviour of the wild animals. There is minimal cutting and lopping pressure on the forest near Kankai. But the grazing pressure is high due to the presence of a large number of cows belonging to the temple.”

He adds, “These cattle have the potential to transmit diseases to the wild animals as well. As Kankai temple is situated near the National Park boundary, the presence of cattle and their interference in the park is a major threat for wild animals.” He finds a similar problem near Tulsishyam temple.

The author says, “The distribution of non-biodegradable substances around Kankai temple and in the river system by the pilgrims is a major source of pollution in the area. There is a danger of wild animals swallowing polythene, which may lead to their death. Along with the river system, toxic substances get transported to a large area inside the forest and this can be deleterious to wildlife.”

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

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Having rescued over 500 crocs, Dhanjibhai Gohel is known as Dhanjibhai ‘Magarwala’

Sasan (Gir), June 24: In Sasan, Dhanjibhai’s name is uttered in the same breath as the Forest Department’s crocodile breeding centre’s. Having rescued over 500 crocs in his two-and-a-half-decade-long career with the forest department, crocodile conservation has become Dhanjibhai’s ‘middle’ or more accurately, his ‘last name’. For, from Dhanjibhai Gohel, he’s now well known in Sasan as Dhanjibhai ‘Magarwala’.

Dhanjibhai’s association with the crocodile breeding centre began in 1977. “In the early 70s, reptiles like Mars crocodiles, salt water crocodiles and alligators were found to be fast disappearing from Saurashtra region. They were included in the endangered species list. With a view to conserve the species, the breeding centre was set up in 1977. Dhanjibhai has been with the centre since then,” says a forest official.

News of a stranded crocodile always has Dhanjibhai rushing to its rescue. “I overpower the reptile by first clutching its mouth and then its tail. After that I put it in a gunny bag, which I tie up with a rope. The crocodile is then released in a lake or a water body,” says Dhanjibhai.

Now, the estimated crocodile population stands at 2,000. “Most crocodiles have been released in big dams like Kamleshwar, Rawal, Shingoda and Machhundri. More than 1,000 have been accommodated in Kamleshwar dam alone,” a forester adds.

Sasan’s ‘Steve Irwin’ claims to have bred 1,500 crocodile at the breeding centre. “A crocodile is kept at the breeding centre till it is eight years old and grows to about 1 m in size. After that it is released in dams or is sent to zoos,” Dhanjibhai says. Conservator to foresters, he says he enjoys his role of a guide to students. “Students come here and quiz me relentlessly on crocodiles and their behaviour,” he says.

Dhanjibhai shrugs off questions on the fear factor with: “Pani man rehvu ane magarmachh thi ver? Na chale (If you want to stay in water, then you can’t take the crocodile for a foe).”

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Yesterday night a pride of one male and three female lions attacked stray cows in the compound of sugar mill on Virpur Road in Talala village near Sasan (Gir). King had killed one cow and attacked the other two. In the meantime, sugar mill staff living in staff quarters in the compound woke up and lions had to run away. Two cows were attacked with injuries and one was killed.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Gandhinagar: A senior Gujarat forest official has now put it on record that the state forest department manipulated data on lion deaths in Gir forest to show unnatural deaths as natural ones.

Chief conservator of forests (research and training) H S Singh has stated in his book ‘The Gir Lion’, published by Pugmark Qmulus Consortium, Ahmedabad, that “over half-adozen lions are poisoned or electrocuted every year in the fringe villages of Gir”.

Disputing the official version that an average two or three lions are poisoned to death each year, Singh believes the forest department figures are fudged. He says: “The actual figure is high. Some of the cases of poisoning have been manipulated as natural deaths.”

This book was released by Chief Minister Narendra Modi at a grand function organised in the state Capital. According to Singh, electrocution is a new method used by villagers around Gir to kill lions. “Recently, villagers started using open live electric wires at night at strategic locations to eliminate lion or leopard,” writes Singh.

Citing a case to which he was himself witness, Singh says, “A farmer near Mendarda killed a pair of young lions by laying electric wire at the entrance of his compound.”

He recalls, “When the lions died on the spot, the farmer burnt them and buried bones in the field. The case was settled by the staff without recording it. It was investigated when the author initiated an inquiry. The case was unearthed after excavating the field to recover bones. A good number of intentional killings of the lions do not appear in the official records.”

Singh attributes the killing of lions every year to the escalation of lion-human conflict and the “pervasiveness of hostility among local villagers towards lions”.

Pointing out “the alarming shift in the intensity and dimension of lion-human conflict around Gir”, he warns that the trend could complicate lion conservation efforts in the area.

According to Singh, raids on crops by blue bulls and wild boars create feelings of hostility among the farmers towards wildlife.

Suggesting how people are compelled to “work against wildlife conservation”, Singh says, “At present, man-animal conflict is the key management issue. The politicians, public representatives and villagers have started questioning wildlife conservation activities at the cost of the interest of local communities”.

Asiatic Lions kill three cattle; One more pride of settles in villages near Dhari

Gujarat Samachar – Brief news translated from Gujarati

Since last one month a pride has made Bhada – Sakariya road near Jafrabad as its home. Today in the morning this pride killed three cattle including bullock and cow. A lioness that just gave birth to her litter had made this place as her home and runs after passer-bys and vehicles. Local people have demanded that forest department to catch this lioness by putting up a cage.

In a separate article, new paper has reported that a pride of mother lioness and her three cubs have settled in Hirava, Jeera and Patla villages near Dhari in Gir (E).

Kishore Kotecha’s comments: After Mar-Apr 2007 poaching incidents, media, in particularly Gujarati news papers of Rajkot are very much interested in publishing even the smallest and sometimes insignificant news regarding Gir and Asiatic Lions. Lion in human localities is nothing new. This has been happening in Gir peripheral villages since ages.

Rajkot: Finally, the Gujarat police has come to the rescue of endangered Asiatic Lions in Gir. The government has decided to set up a state-level wildlife crime cell headed by an officer of inspector general of police (CID Crime) rank to check poaching and other wildlife related crimes.

Poachers killed eight lions in March this year and many others died after falling into uncovered wells.

Sources in state CID crime branch said that main function of the cell would be to detect wildlife related crimes and follow up the cases in court. “The cell will gather information about gangs and impart training to police on tracking wildlife crime,” said sources.

The cell will have monitoring committees headed by range deputy inspector generals of police and district level execution committee headed by district superintendents of police.

It will also identify hyper-sensitive and sensitive areas with the help of Wildlife Protection Society of India.

District level execution committee will patrol jungles and keep an eye on bordering villages. Funds would also be generated for sting operations to unearth poaching rackets, they added. The range level monitoring committee will do overall supervision and convene meetings of NGOs working for wildlife conservation.

Junagadh range IG Mohan Jha said that the cell would definitely help intensify vigil on illegal activities.

On 2-6-2007 dead body of a leopard was found in a trap laid in a farm land in Rabarika village near Khambha. Today owner of this farm land, Madhu Bachu Dobariya was caught by RFO Ranpariya and presented before judicial courts in Una. An application for narco test was done in court, hearing of which will be done at a later date.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Junagadh, June 17: AFTER arresting 19 tribals in connection with poaching of lions in Gir, CID (crime) is facing a tough task in ensuring that 18 of those held are not granted bail.

The CID has still not found any incriminating evidence against those held. Moreover, all 18, expect the kingpin Sarkaslal, have given ficticious names and addresses which means once they get bail, the CID would not be able to trace them.

Keeping this in mind, the CID has filed an affidavit before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (first class) in Una, requesting it to reject their bail applications.

According to the CID, the tribals initially claimed that they belonged to Katni district in Madhya Pradesh. However, when their statements were recorded, they gave addresses of two Madhya Pradesh villages — Mahuva-Kheda (Pavai taluka, Panna district) and Bediyaun (Chhanera taluka, Khandva district).

But when a CID team went their for verification, they found no such names and addresses. In 2004, a similar gang of tribals deceived the police and forest department. Seven members of a tribal gang — who claimed to be from Katni district in Madhya Prades — were nabbed with leopard skins, bones and feathers of some rare birds and later released on bail only to be never found again.

The tribals, six women and a man, were arrested from Plaswa village on May 17, 2004 and released on bail on March 1, 2005.

However, when arrest warrants were issued, the police found that the names and addresses of the gang members and the persons who stood surety for bail were all fake. A forest department team, which went to Katni district, returned empty-handed. The case has made no progress in the Junagadh court till now.

Sarkaslal was arrested on April 30, while his gang members were held earlier. The accused have been in judicial custody since then and had moved a bail application recently, which came up for hearing on June 10. The CID submitted the affidavit during the hearing. Since his arrest, Sarkaslal has been denying his involvement in the case.

According to the CID affidavit, the accused had admitted they used lethal weapons and poison to kill lions. Poached claws, bones and other organs of the lions are yet to be recovered and forensic tests on the accused, including lie-detection and brain-mapping tests, are still to be conducted, it stated. The agency also stated its suspicion that an international network of poachers was operating behind the scenes in the case.

Hence, considering all issues, bail should not be granted to any of the accused at this stage of investigation, the affidavit said.

Junagadh, June 14: A LIONESS that escaped from its display cage at the Sakkarbaug Zoo here on Thursday was caged by officials but not before the animal injured an animal keeper and created panic among people in the surrounding human locality. Though there were visitors in the zoo, none was injured by the animal. The lioness that escaped around 10:30 am was caged at 3:00 pm.

Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Bharat Pathak confirmed the incident. ‘’No visitor was injured, only an animal keeper received some minor injury and scratches. The incident occurred may be due to the keeper’s mistake. An inquiry has been ordered,’’ he said. The injured animal keeper, Ramu Chauhan, was admitted to JunagadhCivilHospital.

In a separate incident, a lioness killed and ate a lion cub while another cub was saved by forest officials in Gir. The incident occurred on Wednesday at Karamdadi round in Dalkhania forest range falling under Gir-East forest division.

According to officials, forest staff during saw a lioness eating a lion cub. They prevented the lioness from eating the rest of the carcass. The cub was about three months old. The foresters also found another lion cub hiding nearby.

Deputy Conservator of Forest (Gir-East) V G Rana said that a panel of doctors had conducted the post mortem on the lion cub_ only one leg of it had been recovered while the rest of the body had been eaten up by the lioness. “Four claws of a leg have been recovered so far,” he said.

The cub that was rescued was also about three months old. But it was found to be weak. After preliminary treatment in Gir, it was shifted to the SakkarbaughZooHospital. Said Rana: “Eating cub is a common phenomena among Asiatic lions. It is not known whether the preyed cub was its own or belonged to another lioness.”

NEW DELHI: Their job is to protect the endangered Asiatic lion, whose only habitat is the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh. Now, forest staff in this wildlife reserve — which has witnessed 19 lions deaths this year — can bank on some protection themselves.

The conservation organisation, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), has initiated a insurance scheme to cover frontline forest staff in Gir and other wildlife reserves of Gujarat against death and injury. A sum of Rs 1 lakh will be given in case of death, permanent total disability and permanent partial disability due to accidents on duty. The insurance premium is borne by WTI.

"This will be a great morale booster for staff," said Victor Meckwan, under-secretary (wildlife). With eight of the 19 lion deaths in Gir due to poachers, conservation officials hope this will embolden forest staff to tackle offenders. "Frontline forest staff face risks while dealing with poachers and rescuing carnivorous animals," said principal conservator of forests Pradeep Khanna.

If all goes well at the policy level then GirNational Park, Sasan in Junagadh district will have two Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) including one at Gir Sanctuary and one mobile FSL.

This is aimed at curbing lion poaching in the sanctuary. Gujarat is considering setting up these facilities.

Government sources say that three parties are involved in the discussions which include the Ministry for Home and Ministry for Forests and Environment and the top officials of the country’s most advanced FSL facility in Gandhinagar.

Sources added that a policy-level decision is likely to be taken before the election.

Sources in the Gujarat Ministry for Home and Gandhinagar FSL confirmed that the state is seriously considering setting up these facilities at the National Park.

A high-level official of FSL, Gandhinagar, while talking to Business Standard, said on terms of anonymity, “The state government is serious about setting up these facilities in GirNational Park. The government move is aimed at curbing the lion poaching.”

On the need for FSL facilities in GirNational Park he said, “If such facilities are available in the sanctuary itself it will be easier for the forest department to investigate poaching. The criminals can be nabbed within a shorter period if such facilities are there. The mobile FSL will be a part of the main FSL and it will be a big help in carrying out the initial investigation on the crime spot itself. In case a carcass is found in the sanctuary the mobile lab will help finding out if the animal was poached or it was a natural death,” he said. However, he said that no formal proposal has been made till now.

Government department sources say the final decision will be taken before the elections as it may help the government to project itself in different light. The move is also seen as a damage control process by many.

A major controversy was created recently after many incidents of poaching were unearthed in the GirNational Park. The state had confessed during the state assembly proceedings that 28 lions died during the last two years.

Carcasses of over 16 lions were found between February 24 to March 31, eight of them are feared to be poached. A number of arrests were made including three beat guards and a retired forest ranger. A gang of tribal poachers was arrested after investigation.

Recently, the Gujarat government has also decided to form a 10-member committee comprising of police and forest department officials. It will call a monthly monitoring committee and will monitor the conservation activities in the GirNational Park.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A dead body of a lion cub was found near Moralagali Ness area under the Dalkhania range of Gir (East) late on Sunday. Sources in the forest department said that the cub was around 2 to 3 months old and could have died of viral infection and weakness. Sources said that all the 18 nails of the cub were intact and there were no marks of injuries on its body. According to postmortem report, the cub was weak by birth. The cub was later cremated near the forest area in the presence of forest officials, veterinary doctors and other witnesses.

Twelve days before Forest Department had organised an awareness programme in Wankia village of Khambha Taluka in Gir East. In the meeting an alert villager Ratna Khatrani brought to the attention of department that twelve years before a person called Valji Hari Malviya had speeded his tractor behind a mating couple in this village on 25-3-1995. This scared the lions and male lion died due to falling in open well nearby. At that time although case had been registered against the culprits, no action is taken so far. So he demanded immediate re-opening of the file and penalize the culprits

Poachers have given wrong address hence they should not be let out on bail

Gujarat Samachar; English translation from Gujarati Newspaper

Poachers of eight lion poaching case had applied for bail in civil courts of Una. CID crime police, who is handling the incidences filed affidavit objecting the said bail application. In this affidavite Police has declared that poachers have given wrong addresses and hence if released on bail, will run away. CID also stated that it is necessary to reach to the root of the case and poaching incidence is sentimentally woven with local people and society.

Gandhinagar, June 9: In wake of the recent poaching incidents_ that saw at least eight Asiatic lions dead in the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary_ the State Government has decided to strengthen the man management in and around the sanctuary areas by recruiting additional field staff and also augmenting the existing fleet of vehicles as also improving the communication network to protect big cats.

The government has already issued sanction orders for the Forest Department to recruit over 100 young beat guards and 300 “vanya prani mitras” to be deployed in the Gir sanctuary. Besides, it has decided to fill up the 40 vacant posts of beat guards and also create four new posts of range forest officers (RFO) and other six of foresters.

With the government giving the go-ahead, the department has already initiated the process of recruiting beat guards, and also appointing over 300 local villagers as “vanya prani mitras” to man the sanctuary areas and keep a tab on any anti-lion activity. It has also been decided to double the mobile squads to four, with each squad comprising one ACF and two foresters and having a jeep equipped with a wireless set and other facilities.

“The recent ugly episodes (poaching incidents) involving gangs of criminals was a wake-up call for us compelling us to take an integrated view that the areas in and around the sanctuary be better guarded to protect the Asiatic lions,” Principal Secretary (Forests and Environment) P N Roy Chowdhury told The Indian Express on Saturday.

Chowdhury also agreed that the average age of each of the present 200 beat guards warding the sanctuary is 46 years that restricts them physically to man their respective jurisdictional areas.

“Keeping this in view, the youths being recruited as beat guards will be deployed in vulnerable areas of the sanctuary. Not only this, we have decided to employ local people as ‘informers’ on some fixed remuneration to help forest officials keep a close watch on possible poaching activities in the area,” he said.

The department has decided to provide firearms to foresters and beat guards so as to enable them to take on criminal gangs indulging in anti-lion activity. Initially, 100 forearms will be purchased and handed over to forest guards deployed mainly in the areas where the poaching incidents had occurred about three months ago, and also in lions’ new habitats in Babra, Savarkundla, Palitana and Mahuva talukas.

According to Bharat Pathak, Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Junagadh Circle, forest staff in Gir will be provided 75 wireless sets in addition to the 300 wireless sets and five more jeeps equipped with wireless sets will be added to the 10 existing ones.

Principal Chief Conservation of Forests (Wildlife) Pradeep Khanna said it was a challenging task for his department to provide safety to lions, as several big cats often stray out of the sanctuary in search of new habitats in the forests of neighbouring Amreli and Bhavnagar districts.

“But, we are resolved to meet this challenge by strengthening human resources and also bettering communication network in the sanctuary. The department has already set up one additional Task Force led by DCF which will collect all relevant information about possible criminal activities that may threaten the very survival of Asiatic lions and the forests,” said Khanna.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

After losing eight Asiatic lions to poachers in March, the forest department has decided to upgrade security in Gir sanctuary area by equipping beat guards with motorcycles, appointing 300 van mitras (voluntary workers) and barricading 8,000 open wells.

The department will buy 100 motorcycles for effective patrolling. This will enable them to keep poachers at bay, while covering open wells or constructing parapets will make the Asiatic lion less vulnerable to accidents. Also, with a large number of lions venturing out of the protected forest area, the department has decided to increase vigilance outside the sanctuary. This vigil will be maintained by van mitras who will be appointed from each village in and around the sanctuary. The van mitras will also look out for poachers. The severe shortage of manpower will also be taken care of. The forest department has decided to appoint an additional 100 beat guards to add to the existing force. These beat guards would be equipped with their individual wireless sets.

Additional chief conservator of forest Pradeep Khanna said that motorcycles will help beat guards cover larger areas, which they were unable to do on foot. Communication through wireless sets would also ensure quick action in case of emergency. For officials too an additional 10 jeeps would be made available for effective monitoring. Khanna said apart from strengthening present security systems, the department has decided to give Rs 4,000 per well to farmers for constructing parapets around open wells.

Ahmedabad: A lion playfully rolls on the ground beside an anthill and suddenly sits up to sniff a prey lurking nearby. It tracks the smell and finds a dead deer hanging from a tree. The audience watch enraptured. In the midst of the Swiss Alps, this is a model Gir landscape recreated in Zurich Zoo in Switzerland for the Asiatic lion.

The enclosure, spread on two hectares of land, gives a comparative picture of the condition that the African and Asiatic lions live in. The enclosure has sand, pebbles, rocks, foliage and lying space for the beast at different heights and for different weather conditions.

The enclosure also introduces stimuli-like smell of prey, plants and typical jungle herbs to give the lion a feel of home.

Besides, there is a complex feeding system to challenge the lions in their hunt for prey. The website describes how there is “feed placed in boxes to be accessed at certain times as well as feed strung from trees. Hidden feed portions as well as alternating large and small rations are all part of this system.”

The zoo has reconstructed a Gir Interpretation Zone and gives special credit to late PP Raval, who was superintendent of Junagadh’s Sakkarbaugh Zoo.

The exhibition, ‘Man and Lion — A relationship between Fear and Admiration’, illustrates the relationship between lions and human beings, the veneration of the lion, contempt for it and the threat of its extinction.

The new enclosure in Zurich Zoo would serve as a home for three lions, the first of which is Bhagirath, born in 1989 in Sakkarbaugh Zoo and was shifted to Zurich in 1991. Two other lions — Aipani and Joy — will join Bhagirath. Aipani belongs to Helsinki and Joy is from Frankfurt.

Additional principal chief conservator of forest, Pradeep Khanna, who attended the inauguration of the enclosure in March this year, said, “Raval was instrumental in sending Bhagirath to Zurich and hence, the zoo has recognised his contribution”.

After poaching incidents, CM announced formation of Rs 40-crore corpus dedicated for upkeep of lions... But an RTI petition has revealed that this situation arose, despite State Government having already spent a similar amount

Gandhinagar, June 5: FACING the heat of poaching incidents that saw at least eight Asiatic lions dead in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in March, the State Government had decided to rope in the private sector to bring in more funds for the Gir Lion Conservation Society. But a petition under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that money has never been a constraint for the State Forest Department, which has on the other hand failed to utilise the full grants on earlier occasions.

On a visit to Gir in the aftermath of the poaching incident, Chief Minister Narendra Modi had announced the creation of a corpus of Rs 40-crore dedicated for the upkeep of the critically-endangered lion. The situation in fact arose, despite a similar amount already having been spent by the Government.

For the upkeep of lions in Gir and its surrounding areas, the State Government earmarked Rs 5.29 crore in 2004-05, Rs 4.49 crore in 2005-06 and Rs 4.66 crore in the 2006-07 budgets. Against this total of Rs 14.44 crore, the Department spent only Rs 12.95 crore. This information was provided by the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) in response to the query.

Also, in the last 10 years beginning 1997, the Department has received funding to the tune of Rs 27.44 crore from the World Bank, and another Rs 5.6 crore from the Japanese aid agency, OECF. This takes the total money with the Department to well over Rs 40 crore — the sum that the Chief Minister hopes would help in providing more security to the lion.

In response to the same RTI query, the Departmet’s Junagadh circle that manages the Gir sanctuary and the overall lion habitat, says that the average age of a beat guard under its jurisdiction is 46 years. Well past their prime, it is this lower rung of the Department that is in charge of keeping a tab on any anti-lion activity inside the 1,400 sq km lion territory. On a routine day, this means trudging across more than 10 kms to keep a watch in the forest. No wonder, when poachers killed three lions close to the guard outpost in Babaria range in March, there was no one to nab the culprits.

Meanwhile, the Forest Department has decided to give 100 motorcycles to its beat guards and foresters, which will improve their mobility while patrolling the large tracts.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Chief Conservator of Forests says his book may come handy for writing future management plans

Ahmedabad, June 4: RECENTLY in the news for large-scale poaching, the critically endangered Gir lion might be threatened by yet another force. A new book on the big cat says that global warming is the next big threat to the animal. Written by State Forest Department’s Chief Conservator of Forests H S Singh, and to be released by Chief Minister Narendra Modi today, “The Gir Lion” is an encyclopedic account on the big cat, says the author in conversation with Abhishek Kapoor.

Q. What made you write this book?

A.I have been fortunate in having over two decades of exposure to the Gir lion. My two years as conservator of the Sasan Wildlife Sanctuary (1994-96) were particularly fruitful as I got to observe the big cat up, close, and personal. This was also the time when I wrote the first Gir management plan.

The book is the result of that relationship and a tribute to the large-hearted big cat. It gives detailed account of the society of Gir lion, its structure, grouping system, social behaviour, communication, sexual behaviour and reproduction, predation pattern and prey-predator dynamics inside Gir.

Q. How valuable is the effort from the conservation point of view?

A.The book, with 320 pages and over 300 photographs, sketches, and maps, traces Gir Lion’s antecedents and chronicles its life through the ages up to the present times. It also delves in detail on a likely conservation footprint in the light of recent developments. Apart from academic purposes, the book can be useful for writing future management plans for large cats in India and outside.

Q. You say in your book that Gujarat’s conservation efforts are a model to be followed. Does it not contradict the recent happenings that saw at least eight lions poached inside the high security Sasan Sanctuary?

A.The management of Gir Sanctuary is nationally acclaimed for increasing the lion population by two folds in over two decades and to that extent remains a model in conservation.

Recent developments are bad and unprecedented in Gir’s history and constitute a wake up call. They must caution the management to improve protection measures and plug the loopholes by using modern tools and technology. Over all administrative efficiency in Gir needs a facelift.

Q. Can you elaborate?

A.The satellite population of Gir lions needs focus. Work needs to be done on developing continuous corridors to allow good contact between scattered cats. At the same time, if the increasing pressure of human population are to be managed, the administration needs to device a more quick system of grievance redressal. So, dealing with man-animal conflict needs priority. It is the trust of community that is the root strength of Gir management.

Q. How well is the lion placed in Gir?

A.Its history shows that the lion has never lived in an environment with temperature crossing 45 degrees. By that standard, Gir, with its summer heat close to that range, constitutes a stressed environment now. With global warming, temperatures might go further up, making the lion’s survival in the region debatable.

Q. Would you suggest shifting of Gir lion to some other location?

A.Scientifically, keeping a small population at a single place is full of risks. It is desirable to have bigger population spread over larger areas. But in India, there is no other place that matches the Gir habitat. Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh actually has summer temperatures hovering around 49 degrees making it absolutely impossible for the lion to survive.

Ahmedabad/Junagadh, June 4: A LEOPARD was found dead in Ambaliya Vidi (grassland) in Khambha taluka of Amreli district. After being informed by nearby Rabarika villagers, the Forest Department recovered the carcass trapped in an iron trap on June 2, that is four days after the incident took place. However, forest officials have ruled out the possibility of suspected poaching, and maintained that all the 18 claws, skin and other body parts were intact.

Two months after the first poaching case of the Asiatic lion was reported from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, lives of big cats in and around the sanctuary, continues to be unsafe. The Forest Department, after finding the leopard claws intact, arrested a local farmer, Madhu Patel on Monday, whose house is located near Ambaliya Vidi. According to Deputy Conservator Of Forest (Gir East) V G Rana, the leopard aged about 9 to 10 years was caught in a trap laid by the farmer, and died later. Post-mortem report suggests the animal died of injuries sustained while trying to escape from the trap and also from haemorrhage of heart muscles.” There is no possibility of the involvement of any interstate poaching gang,” he added.

The Forest Department officials said in order to prevent wild animals from entering the farmhouse, traps are laid by farmers. Be it by poachers or locals, if the latest incident of leopard killing is any indication, the ground situation shows no signs of improvement.

Moreover, CID (Cime), which has been investigating poaching cases here, is not aware about this incident.

When contacted, IG CID (Crime) Keshav Kumar said, “We will have to collect all the details about the dead leopard.” Whether the traps show signs of poaching for claws or bones, or locals protecting field and livestock — we need to examine the modus operandi before coming to any definite conclusion,” he added.

What has raised the hackles of animal lovers is the fact that the forest department came to know about the leopard only four days after the incident, and that too, only after being informed by the villagers. Though the forest department with 300 beat guards, claims to have increased vigilance following poaching incidents, it has failed to cover the sprawling forest as well the adjoining areas.

Chairman of the Lion Conservation Society of India, Kishor Kotecha said, “The sanctuary is surrounded by 10 talukas. Within a radius of 6 km of the sanctuary, about 128 villages are located. While locals usually help in conservation of big cats, some play nasty, like it seems to have happened in the case of this leopard.” Conservator of forest Bharat Pathak was not available for his comments.

Meanwhile, carcass of a semi-adult lion cub aged about two years was found near Undaradiness forest area under Tulshishyam range in Gir east forest division. Officials said it died of natural causes.